So is everyone completely over Christmas, New Year’s and the Holidays? Your tree is pulled down, all the ornament’s put away, the bright twinkly lights wadded into a ball, to be detangled next year, and your “seasonal” plateware stored in the back of the closet, not to be seen for 11 more months? Yeah, well, not in this household. In fact, I just celebrated Christmas with my family this past Saturday, as my sister and brother-in-law couldn’t fly out here from the East Coast until this week to celebrate with our family. AJ and I used this as an excuse to keep our tree up (ok, I used it as an excuse, because I loathe for the holidays to end) and even though we now, officially, can take down the tree, AJ and I have yet to celebrate our own Christmas and exchange our presents. Even after 11 years together, when I suggested that maybe we skip presents for each other, AJ had a look of horror on his face, and I quickly backed down and said, of course I would LOVE to still exchange presents (and I do love buying presents for him, I just wanted to simplify things). However, that means, on this blog, it’s still the holiday season, and hence, it’s completely legitimate for me to blog one more time about the holidays. Like the annual 18 Reasons DIY Dessert Holiday Cookie Swap, where I brought these crazy Dr. Seuss-ian looking Blackberry Peppermint Chocolate Striped Cookies.

Dr. Seuss would be proud of these Blackberry Peppermint Chocolate Striped Cookies

This was our first DIY Dessert event in the beautiful new 18 Reasons space and it couldn’t have gone better. Our fearless leader Rosie, the Executive Director was there to greet my co-leader Melanie and me when we got there to set up. Rosie had brought some traditional spicy pfeffernüsse which are an awesome Danish (or Dutch I can’t remember) cookie. They translate to Spicy Peppernut and I probably could have eaten them by the handful if I wasn’t trying to pace myself for the evening. Melanie had brought Chocolate Toffee Cookies which were divine. I grab one to eat and one to take home. Our first guest brought Douglas Fir Orange Zest Sugar Cookie. Melanie took a bite of the cookie and exclaimed “Holy cow! That tastes like Christmas.” And it did. It really did.

There were definitely some sophisticated flavored cookies happening at the Holiday swap. People seemed to really love the Persimmon Cookies with the walnut and rum raisins cookies. The Coffee Cardamom Crisps were truly delightful, with a great flavor. But the one that everyone raved about was a wheat free Chocolate Raisin Gin and Pecan cookie. In fact, another attendee contacted 18 Reasons to see if she could get the recipe. Thankfully I had snagged the email of the person who made it, and I hope that the recipe was exchanged. Gin raisins. Brilliant.

Peppermint showed up a couple of times with the Peppermint Snow Brownies (technically not a cookie, but I am definitely not going to complain about brownies) as well as Peppermint Whoopie Pies which were brought by the same family who brought the Coffee Cardamom Crisps. Obviously that family had excellent taste!

Peppermint Snow Brownies

Peppermint Whoopie Pies.

Butter cookies were well represented with cute Vanilla Sugar Cookies with sprinkles (brought by the same person who brought the chocolate gin raisin and pecan cookies), as well as Butter Cookies with lemon glaze, labeled ¡Coyotes Locos! as they were cut out in the shape of coyotes (I want that cookie cutter). Even more fun were chunky thick butter cookies sandwiched together and labeled Yo-Yo’s. So adorable!

More kid friendly Vanilla Sugar Cut Out Cookies.

¡Coyote Locos! Sugar Cookies

Butter Cookie Yo-Yos!

There were Peanut Butter Cookies that were anything by ordinary, Brown Butter Sea Salt Rice Krispies that had me sneaking an extra one for my take home box, and someone brought two types of Coconut Dipped Thumbprint Cookies (apricot and raspberry) that were both extraordinary.

The classic peanut butter cookie

Brown Butter Sea Salt Rice Krispies.

Raspberry Coconut dipped thumbprint cookies

Apricot coconut dipped thumbprint cookies

Fellow blogger Melissa of Serving Seconds brought some awesome Chocolate Dipped Potato Chip Encrusted Florentines, which had AJ reaching for seconds. Thankfully the Homespun Lace Cookies that I kept on reaching for were cut small and bite size, which not only made them so super cute but also made them easy to pop a few in my mouth without feeling super guilty. And fellow DIY Dessert regular Jo brought Swiss Almond Hearts that looked as wonderful as they tasted.

Potato Chip Encrusted Chocolate Dipped Florentines

Bite size homespun lace cookies.

Swiss Almond Hearts by Jo.

Spice Cake Truffles were a huge hit (who doesn’t love a cake truffle – which is basically a cake pop with the stick) that sadly went so fast that I didn’t have a chance to take a photo of them! I was totally taken with the Swedish Rosette with sugar and cinnamon. Then again, I’m a sucker for any sort of fried batter like item covered with sugar and cinnamon. Who isn’t?

Swedish Rosettes covered with powdered sugar and cinnamon.

The DIY Dessert Holiday Cookie Swap spread!

The kids were enjoying the cookies immensely.

I'm hanging out with Rosie, helping to serve up some wine.

Everyone seemed to have a blast, and it was a wonderful way to kick off the holiday season. I can’t wait for the next DIY Desserts, the date to be determined. We haven’t even decided on a theme yet, but once we do, I’ll let everyone know. In the meanwhile, I’m going kick back, take one last look at our Christmas tree and listen to A Very She & Him Christmas album one last time before everything gets packed up and stored away for another 11 months. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season.

The table was groaning with cookies and treats for all to take home.

The new 18 Reasons space is awesome and everyone enjoyed it.

My partner-in-crime Melanie showing off her cookie swap bounty.

Blackberry Peppermint Chocolate Striped Cookies
By Irvin Lin

These cookies get a boost of Dr. Seuss-ian like whimsy with the addition of the red food coloring and shiny white egg glaze. You can omit the food coloring if you like but expect the blackberry cookie part to look a dull (not really attractive) gray-purple color. To get the extra black color in the chocolate stripes, I used onyx black cocoa powder. You can find it a specialty supply stores or online. If you don’t have access to it though, feel free to substitute the same amount of dutch-processed cocoa powder. Don’t omit the white glaze though, because they not only make the cookies look surreal and shiny but also helps the sparkling sugar stick to the top of the cookie, giving them an extra sugary crunch with each bite. If you don’t have sparkling sugar (which are extra large sugar crystals) just substitute regular granulated white sugar.

1. Make the blackberry dough by placing blackberries 1 tablespoon of the white sugar in a small pot over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the blackberries start to fall apart and it begins to smell jammy and have thickened (about 5 minutes). You want to make sure most of the moisture has evaporated, so this might take longer if you are using frozen blackberries, which have more moisture.

2. Scrape the blackberries into the bowl of a standing mixer and beat for 30 seconds on medium speed until the blackberry puree had cooled. Add the butter, sugars, and salt into the bowl. Split the bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the bowl as well. Cream the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy, about three minutes on medium. Add the egg and food coloring and beat to incorporate.

2. Add the flour in three portions, beating to incorporate between additions, scraping down the sides with a large spatula. Once the flour is blended in, divide the dough in half and pat the dough down into a 6 x 6 x 1/2 inch square. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (about 20 to 30 minutes). Repeat with the second half of the dough.

3. Make the chocolate dough by placing the butter, sugars, and salt in the same bowl (don’t bother cleaning it) of the standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy, about three minutes on medium. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds into the batter. Add the egg and peppermint extract and beat to incorporate.

4. Place the flour, cocoa powders, and instant coffee in a small bowl stir vigorously with a balloon whisk until well blended. Add these dry ingredients in three portions, beating to incorporate between additions, scraping down the sides with a large spatula. Once the flour is blended in, divide the dough in half and pat the dough down into a 6 x 6 x 1/2 inch square. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate (about 20 to 30 minutes). Repeat with the second half of the dough.

5. Take all four dough squares out of the refrigerator. Brush the top of one of the blackberry dough 6 x 6 squares with water completely. Place one of the chocolate dough squares on top of it, and press down firmly to adhere the dough. Brush the top of this chocolate dough with water and place the remaining blackberry dough square on top of that, pressing down firmly. Brush the top of this blackberry square with water and place the remaining chocolate dough on top of that, pressing down firmly. You should have a 2 inch thick stack of 6 x 6 square dough, alternating in layers. Now cut the square in half horizontally and brush the top of one half with water. Press the other half on top of that, creating a large 4 inch stack of 8 alternating layers of dough. Now press firmly down on the dough evenly to smash the dough block down to a 3 inch tall box. This will make sure that all the dough is firmly attached to each other, as well as make the final cookies not quite as tall. Wrap with plastic wrap and place back in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes until firm.

Stack the four doughs on top of each other, alternating.

Cut block in half and then stack again, creating an 8 layer stack.

6. While the dough firms up in the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line two baking sheets with silpats or parchment paper. Once the dough has firmed up, trim the edges of the rectangle to make 90˚ sides. Set the trimming aside for marbled zebra cookies (instructions to follow). Cut a 1/2 inch strip from the square lengthwise. Lay the dough flat, and cut into 1/2” strips. Place the cookies on the baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

After trimming sides, slice a 1/2 inch piece of dough, lengthwise from block.

Lay the dough flat and just slice cookie bars from it!

7. Beat the egg white and the water together in a small bowl until frothy. Brush each cookie with the egg white wash and then sprinkle with sparkling sugar. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until the edges of the cookies start to brown ever so slightly. Cool on the sheet for ten minutes before moving them to a wire cooling rack.

8. To make marbled zebra cookies, brush the top of one trimming with water and place another trimming on top, alternating dough strips. Repeat until all the trimmings are placed on each other. Flatten and twist the trimmings together, turning clockwise with one hand, while counterclockwise with the other. Roll out the dough to a 12 inch length, and fold over once. Form the dough into a thick 1 1/2 inch roll pressing firmly down to make sure the different doughs stick together. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill until firm (another 20 to 30 minutes).

9. While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line two baking sheets with silpats or parchment paper. Once the dough has firmed up, slice the dough into 1/2” thick cookies and place on the baking sheet, about an inch apart. Brush with the white egg wash and sprinkle with the sparkling sugar. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies start to brown ever so slightly. Cool on the sheet for ten minutes before moving them to a wire cooling rack.

This looks like so much fun! I’m sure there has to be an event like this somewhere close by. Until I find it, I’ll have to settle with living vicariously through your post. Which btw, isn’t really settling.

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The Baker, Writer, Recipe Maker

Hey there! Thanks for visiting my blog. I'm Irvin Lin, an IACP-Award winning photographer, award winning baker, award winning graphic designer, storyteller, recipe developer, writer and average joe bon vivant. Hilarity often ensues when I'm involved. I currently reside in San Francisco in the neighborhood people have recently taken to calling "The Gastro" - a block from Dolores Park and right near Tartine Bakery, Bi Rite Market & Creamery, and Delfina.

I can also be found at various food events around the city. Feel free to contact me by clicking on that picture of me up above or emailing me eatthelove {at} gmail {dot} com.

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